So everyone tells me you have to have a name for the drop. Really wasn't planning on a name but came up with TODD, Trans Off-road Desert Dwelling. But I was informed that we can't use the word "Trans" anymore so plan B is ODD Off-road Desert Dwelling.

Why the BuildWe have done all kinds of camping, starting with a tent, getting a pop-up camper when we had kids. Back to tent camping off the motorcycle, and finally tent camping with the Jeep. We have been getting tired of sleeping on the ground even though we have very good sleeping pads. Seems like the last few years camping we have been having more cold nights in the 20's and 30's and that is getting old getting out of the sleeping bag in the morning. We have our camping gear organized but it takes awhile to get packed for a trip. Because of motorcycle camping we camp very minimal. To be able to sleep in a rest areas or Walmart parking lots if needed.

Goal for the CamperTo be able to have all camp gear pack and ready to go. I want to be able to say lets go camping and just grab some clothes and food and be able to be on the road in under 60 minutes.To be able to go off road with the Jeep. Not rock crawling, forest roads, and easy to intermediate 4X4 trails. Camping in remote areas.Smallish but not too small.As narrow as possible. To not store anything on the bed while traveling.Buy no wood from Home Depot or Lowes.

Wants and NeedsOff-road capable with lift and wheels and tires to match Jeep.CFO requires some type of toilet. A port-o-potty in an enclosure (tent) is acceptable.Water storageShower with hot water.Useable stocked galley, with or without sink.Some type of outside table to eat at.Good quality mattress. Place to store clothes inside.1" wall insulation.Shade awing.12v system with one maybe two batteries, LED lighting, USB charging areas, 12v outlets, Will probably put in a 120v outlet or two but don't see much need for it.Heater, This is the tough one because of cost, probably leave room for a Propex to add down the road if needed.Aluminum skinned.Keep cost under control, this isn't a budget build, but the CFO is watching the budget.I'm sure I'm missing something but it's all I can think of now.

DesignThis was the easy part. My original idea was to build an expo trailer with a roof top tent. CFO said no way am I climbing down a ladder in the middle of the night. So the expo trailer is out. She said she wanted a more traditional teardrop. We looked at them online and she said that one, so we are building a Grumman. I am using the Wyoming Woody plans and made some modifications to the plans. I started with the sleeping area and sized it to fit a full XL mattress. The XL is extra long for a full at 80" the same as a queen. Everything else was just eyed to the keep the same scale as the Wyoming Woody. I did go higher than 48" and am just under 10'. I did buy the Steve Frederick's book and am using a lot of his methods.

The BuildI know, I know..."Finally we're getting to the good stuff". Not just yet.The plan was to finish up a few other projects around the house like tile in the master bath, finish the shed (you'll see pictures of that in the background), then start on ODD. Get what I can before it gets to hot to work in the garage. Then start up again in the fall of 2018 and be done in early 2019. CFO's best friend was out for a visit in October and said why wait get it started now so you can use it. Around the middle of November my wife said lets get started. The weather was just getting nice and I would have all winter (nice working weather) to work on it. At least that was the plan.

I think I got posting pictures figured out on this forum, so lets get the build going.

One thing I left out for what we wanted in a camper was lightweight. Well that ship has long sailed. You have to constantly be in the mindset of building lightweight. I really haven't had to think like that with anything I've built in the past. The other thing is Baltic Birch is heavy compared to other woods or plywoods, but it is strong and stable. I'll still be well within towing limits of the TV. But it will be no lightweight.

I first build a table workbench that will be 5' X 10' with a 1/2" top. I used left over 2X4's for the scaffold I built to do the stucco on the shed that is in the background (that I need to finish ) The wood was kind of bad from being outside in the sun but I had it and made it work with a lot of shims.

Next was making patterns. I used some 1/4" BB for that. two pieces with a half lap joint to a 5X10ish size. I made two patterns so I didn't have to cut the first one down. My wives best friend also wants a teardrop so there may be a V2.0 at some point. And I'll have the patterns.

Started some layout grids and then kind of eyed it up from there. A disc sander with 50 grit makes a great eraser.

After a few tries we got a profile we liked. The green tape is the mattress, blue tape are the cabinets.

I went to do the next update and can't find a bunch of pictures. I thought I uploaded them but are not there. I noticed I'm missing a memory card and will look for it today. If not I'll just continue with out them.

Okay so it looks like a bunch of pictures are MIA. I'll just continue with what I have.

More half laps joints in 1/4" BB for the sides.

Laying out the headliner at 1 5/8" on the pattern.

I built the inner wall using the skeleton method, the missing pictures are of building the skeleton. Here it is finished.

I used the jig saw and cut close to the line then cleaned up with the belt sander right to the line.

Then I copied the pattern to the skeleton. I didn't want to use the 1/8" router bit like it says in the manual. I don't think it's safe using a RotoZip adapter in a regular router and I was routing 1" material.I could only find 1/8" bits in 1/2" length. I uses the jig saw and cut the center of the two lines. I figured I can clean up to the line with the belt sander again when I have to install the cut offs between the spars.

Then I used the router with a flush trim bit to match the pattern to the skeleton.

I cut the other skeleton the same way and then used the first skeleton at a pattern to train the second.

For my inner wall I used what is called 1" Baltic Birch. I say called because all BB will come in metric sizes and I was told it was 25mm thick but it was just under 24mm if I recall. So that meant the rigid foam all had to be sanded. Not hard to do just more time. But it was easy to work with just cutting a bunch of 3.5" wide pieces out of a 4X8. But BB is heavy (so much for lightweight) but it is stable and strong.

Once I had the skeletons walls done I cut all the foam to fit, easy to do before the outer skin goes on. I still need to finish the rough in for the door. I did that after the outer skin was put on.

Most of this so far was just working weekends and evenings. I have been having problems with my feet and made an appt to see the foot doctor the next week which would be the week of Thanksgiving. Figured get a few Cortisone shots and be good for a few months. I need to find a doc the will hook me up to a Cortisone IV every couple on months. That sure would help with the pains. I'm not sure how much I'll be getting done after work because I am getting into the busy time at work. People try to get their surgeries in by the end of the year which make it busy for me. Thais is another reason I need to get my feet looked at. Four day weekend next week for Thanksgiving so am hoping to get a lot done.

wysedav wrote:Great Start, jealous that you can work outside. Are you making the sides 1/2" think?

Thanks, Yes it is nice now but come May I'll have 100 degrees in the garage after work. And it will stay like that till September. Except for June and July when it will be 120. Then I get up at 5:00 and try to get a few hours in before work. The walls will be close to 1 3/8" thick. 1/4" outer, 1" middle, 1/8" inner.

I'm marking the outer skin where to put glue for the skeleton. Everything was labeled with colored markers to help eliminate mistakes when glueing. In this case the other side of the skeleton is marked in red "passenger outside". Same colors get glued to each other, never different colors.

Some brackets were added to help aline the skeleton once glue is applied.

Cutting the outer skin door out.

Once the skin was glues on I reinstalled the foam glueing it in place. and then sanding it flush with a disc sander with 50 grit paper. I also used the poly water tubing in 1/2" OD for raceways for electric wiring. Also wood blocks were added for screws to hold on the switch plate and the outdoor light above the door. Sorry for the bad pictures.

If you look close in this picture you can see smoke, I routed the groove in the wood and a shavings were hot enough to melt the foam, I'm glad I noticed it and didn't go in to eat or be done for the night.

A few coats of epoxy on the outer skins.

So this brings me to around Dec 1st. I had the doctor appt and it didn't go as planned. I was hoping for a few Cortisone shots and be on my way, but he said the pain is not just plantar fasciitis this time and to get an MRI. The MRI showed what we knew was going to happen sooner or later, tarsal tunnel syndrome. I set up surgery for 12/10. This is not going to sit well with work but I needed to get it done. I had 10 days to come up with a plan. That plan was to build the floor and get the walls up that way when I could get back on my feet I might have some easy stuff to do like varnish walls. I got the floor done but no pictures and work was real busy 10-16 hour days. The weekend before surgery I figured I wasn't going to get the walls up so I took some measurements and cleaned everything up for the next 6-8 week off.

I had two week like this, I was told toes above nose. Then two weeks with a boot and crutches (I was sick almost the full two weeks which was a good thing because it keep me off my foot longer to better heal). Then I had three weeks going from the boot to wearing shoes for a hour or two around the house to just shoes over the three weeks.

So everyone tells me you have to have a name for the drop. Really wasn't planning on a name but came up with TODD, Trans Off-road Desert Dwelling. But I was informed that we can't use the word "Trans" anymore so plan B is ODD Off-road Desert Dwelling....

Oh crap, do you mean the idiocy of political correctness has pervaded (or perverted ?) our society to the point that we can't name our own creations whatever we think is appropriate , because it might offend some snowflake? It is what it is, and should be so named. I guess that the Pontiac Trans-Ams will all have to be re-named, and any person, creature, place, or thing named "trans". or "pan" (another version of trans) will be socially offensive. Lots of companies will be changing their names, and eventually everyday items items will lose the descriptor that accurately defines the item; it will be replaced with some other muddled , non-offensive label in fashion at the time.

By the way, nice build in progress! I agree with not using Roto-zip adapters in a router

KTM_Guy wrote:I didn't want to use the 1/8" router bit like it says in the manual. I don't think it's safe using a RotoZip adapter in a regular router

... It's better to use a router for some things, and a Roto-zip for others. I used my Roto-zip for everything (my friend's router tried to kill me, so I had no alternative), in lieu of router, holesaw, jigsaw, Dremel, etc. I cut out my door and window openings, and holes for my vents and A/C window unit, as well. I had to sand the edges of tose openings, because the Rotozip bits I used were not intended to cut thru 3'4" plywood, but it was my best tool at the time. I have since bought a hand-held router that would've worked better than the Roto-zip, but I've never had occasion to cut on my trailer again, just needing a drill, for subsequent modifications.

Okay I've been cleared to spend up to 60 minutes on my foot at a time with out the boot on, then rest it for a few hours. Over the next few weeks i'll be working up to a normal work day so I can get back to work.

So before the surgery I took some measurements for the cabinets and started getting some wood cut. I don't have a good way to crosscut long panels, so I made a jig to cut them with a flush trim bit in a router. My inside width on my walls is 55 3/16" (or something close to that). that is what the jig is set for. Every horizontal board will get cut this way for the cabinets.

It's just 1/4" BB with a stop on the end.

I do a rough cut with what ever saw is handy which is usually the jig saw.

Then use a router with flush trim bit.

I also got the inner 1/8" skin on one of the walls but no pictures. I'm finding I'm getting less pictures now.